Grateful Dead Music Forum

wrist tendonitis is very common among guitar players. I use to be in such pain, I had to stop playing for a while, but I am in pain only rarely, after long periods of playing or gardening now. I'll tell you how I cured it.

Gloucosomine + MSM every day for 2 months

If possible, rest it and don't play for a month or so. Ice packs help too.

Doctors treat it by surgery and pain killers. The problem with taking pain killers is that you may be more likely to cause further injury because you don't feel the pain. Some people get a lot of help from physical therapy if you can afford it, but I've known many people that simply taking the gloucosomine worked for.

You can get it in the grocery store. It's not cheap, but it's worth trying before doing anything else. Gloucosomine is a substance that its natually produced by the body.

I noticed this thread on a subject that I've had a lot of experience with so here we go.

The main problem with these wrists problems is playing too much and playing with tension in the neck and shoulder. Often certain hand positions will contribute as well. Pain in the left hand is common when the wrist is flexed too much for example.

This is a massive subject and these shorts posts can be helpful but will never cover it properly. I'm currently working on a project that aims to do it justice and that should be finished in a few months. In the mean time check out what I've got so far.

www dot tuneup dot com dot au

(I couldn't post the url because I need to make a few more posts and I don't want to clutter up your forum just for the hell of it.)

You can contact me via the site if you have any questions

Well, I just went out & bought a bottle of Glucosamine, Chondroitin, & MSM. It's a 50 days supply, I guess, so I'll let y'all know how I feel when it's done!

Over the last week the pain has gone from just my wrist to now the top of my hand (where the bones are) as well as a little in my elbow, and maybe even a little in my shoulder/neck if I think about it. I am concerned that it could get worse over the years, so I'm hoping to "head it off at the pass" if you will. I hope it helps.

Benthegoodbum wrote:Is it something that happens just when you play guitar? If so then maybe you should just take a break from it for a while.

If you are feeling wrist and arm pain when playing, you probably need to make some changes in the way you sit or stand. Also the way you hold the guitar and/or use your hands. Read this in one blog, some warm-up exercises before playing:

• *Stretch the fingers out to avoid tendonitis and the resulting pain. Before playing and every fifteen or twenty minutes, relax the flexors by pulling the fingers of the left hand out to the count ten.
  
  *Stretch the forearm by extending the arm out straight in front of you with fingers pointing upward. With the other hand, gently pull the fingers toward your body and feel the stretch. Next, turn the fingers downward and use the opposite hand to pull them toward you.
  
  *Feeling for any tight or painful spots, massage your left forearm with your right thumb, starting at the elbow and working all the way to the wrist. Massage your right arm in the same manner.

Holy Necropost Batman!!!

Did you look at when the message you responded to was posted? It's almost 4 years old...

XxRouninxX wrote:... but now when im picking up the guitar im feeling a certain weakness and lack of coordination

I have this problem too. But sadly, it isn't related to any orthopoedic problem.

There is lots of good advice above, but one thing I didn't see is that there are lots of common places to get tendonitis in your hands and wrists, playing guitar can cause or aggravate many of them. One thing I do is take the recommended over the counter dose of ibuprofen for a week or so (if your stomach can handle it) and see what happens. If it is a common tendonitis, usually the ibuprofen will make it markedly better in 7-10 days. Often, it will come back a few days after you stop taking the Advil or whatever, in which case you will have to start narrowing down what is causing the inflammation. If the Ibuprofen doesn't work in 10 days, I stop taking it, as the problem is something other than a mild tendonitis.

Good luck!

RiverRat wrote:Holy Necropost Batman!!!

Did you look at when the message you responded to was posted? It's almost 4 years old...

Obviously, I didn't!

Well, if he is still having problems 4 years later, I hope my ibuprofen suggestion puts him right!

I have 'tennis elbow' - definitely made worse by playing guitar. I've had this condition for just over a year.

I take 3 Advils 1.5 hrs before a gig. It reduces inflammation and definitely helps big time.

I started w/therapeutic massages a month ago for tightness all over my body. This is serious deep tissue massage, not what the wife gets at the spa. She spends time on my elbow and it's better than it was. Strongly recommended!

mk

This is a pretty scary situation for people who love to play guitar. I have the same issues.Swinging a hammer all day and coming home and playing guitar has taking a toll on my arms and shoulders. Massage is a great help for me. But the key I believe is stretching and doing exercises to get the shoulder blades down and back. Most things we do in life we have our arms out front and our chest somewhat collapsed toward each other. I have been seeing a physical therapist to correct this problem and I am having great results. Oh yeah and drink lots of water.
I hope you find some relief soon.
peace

+1 on stretching & drinking water. A PT will show you exercises. Remembering to do them & following through is important.

mk

RiverRat wrote: It's almost 4 years old...

holy smokes. 4 years, seems like yesterday.
any pain i had has gotten less it seems so but it is still an issue now and then. I dont know exactly what i did to work it out, but gettin ol' sux

gr8fulbluz wrote: gettin ol' sux

yeah, but it sure beats your only other alternative

I don't get wrist pain but I have problems with my right hand - my knuckles crack all day long. It happens just by making a fist. My thumb will lock up and popping it loose hurts. For years as a youngster I used a medium pick and would over grip them to get less flex and like an idiot I didn't go to a heavier pick. This may be the cause since my left hand doesn't seem nearly as bad. I also did a lot of manual labor when I was younger too and that could be a contributing factor. Anyone else have an issue like that?

Dozin wrote:If it's from playing they say adjust your guitar strap to a different position. I don't know how true that is but I thought I throw that out there.

I bought one of these gyro balls. I don't have any problems "knock on wood" but this thing really loosen up the hand and wrist

+1

there's actually a yoga position where you lay facedown on the floor with forearms squished under your body weight, and this is a position that's done after lots of large muscle work that get your heart pumping...so you go into this arm squashing position and it cuts the blood flow for a bit, then when you release, it flushes a bunch of fresh oxygenated blood to the forearms and hands. yeah, Bikram yoga, gets pretty intense!